Photo-of-the-Week #253 Memories, Again – Hollywood & Vine, Hollywood, California, May 2009

Decades come and decades go. We accumulate all kinds of junk/stuff that eventually has little value other than, perhaps, some sentimental value to most of us as individuals or couples. Memories is really where it's at and what life is all about. The great thing is we can accumulate an unlimited number of memories. They take up no physical space and memories are the only thing we actually take with us at the end of our life's journey.

That's why it's so important to make all the memories you can while you can. One day, if you and I are fortunate enough to live long enough, we won't be making a whole lot of new memories. But, we'll have this vast treasure trove of memories we've saved up over a lifetime and we can review and relive them in the theater of our minds. . . READ MORE

Photos-of-the-Week #224 - Scenes From The Past, Asbury Park Palace Casino & Laingdon Hotel, Asbury Park & Ocean Grove, New Jersey, June 2014

Some things seem to pass the test of time like the Pyramids in Egypt, the Great Wall of China and a city like Venice, Italy. The U.S. isn't near as old as these other examples, but there are still some places that have that certain historic aura. Parts of the Jersey Shore are like that. For readers who are not from New Jersey, the Jersey Shore is the name used for at least a century for  the entire 141 mile New Jersey Atlantic Coast. You may also hear the phrase "down the shore" commonly used by those who frequent this major eastern resort area. And, yes, there was a cable TV show titled "Jersey Shore." Three guesses what it was about.

The photo above is what remains of the historic Asbury Park Palace Casino. To the very right edge of the photo you can see just a small portion of what was known as the Carousel Building where an historic merry-go-round resided for decades from the time it was originally built. The structure, or what remains of it, except for the part of the complex that extended out onto the beach and has been demolished, is undergoing restoration. . . SEE ANOTHER PHOTO AND READ MORE 

#12 on the Top Ten List of Life Thieves - "Television"

Television! TV! The One-Eyed Monster! The Boob Tube! A rose by any other name is still a rose. The same goes for television.

People were amazed and delighted with the first photographs. What a technological advance dating back to around the mid-19th Century. It was the beginning of what became a huge industry for over 150 years. Recorded sound was the next major technological advance. It is, of course, with us today after evolving through a variety of format/media advancements.  Then came the motion picture. From its very primitive beginnings without sound and only in black and white to the technological marvel movies with multi-channel sound movies have evolved to today.

Public consumption commercial radio broadcasts began in the 1920's. Broadcast radio is now ubiquitous in homes, cars, trucks, motorcycles, farm tractors, boats, etc. They are terrestrial based and satellite transmitted. And let's not forget that radio has expanded to the Internet and can be received on computers, tablet computing devices and smart phones.

And then there is television . . .

Benefits or Entitlements

Benefits and entitlements, are they one and the same or are they different breeds of animals? There seems to be a trend for those in the bureaucracy of federal (and even state) government toward calling anything they pay out to citizens as entitlements. Now, I'm not sure. Is it because I'm becoming a crotchety old man (NOT)? Or, is it because those in the elected offices, their high ranking appointees and the massive legion of high level bureaucrats are using governmentspeak or doublespeak to get us to believe something that isn't true.

Would this be the first time the government has attempted (and often succeeded) in duping the "flock?" I think not. That is a huge topic for another time. However, as humans, we are basically pack animals. Although, it's probably more accurate to say we're like flock or herd animals. Watch cattle in the pasture sometime. When it's milking time they all line up one behind the other and follow the leader right into the milk barn. A new word becomes the "in" word to use in the pop culture - cool, dude, awesome, right on, righteous, bro, etc. All of a sudden, it slips into our vocabulary and pretty soon we're all using it. . . READ MORE

To Birthday or Not To Birthday, That is the Question . . .

Okay, so today I ended 68 years of living on this third rock from the sun and began my 69th year. Holy Cow! It's a little hard to wrap my brain around that. But, even more difficult is realizing that I'm only two years from replacing the number 68 with the number 70. It's something I never imagined.

Often you hear someone ask a question like, "How does it feel to be (fill in the age)?" Well, as I usually reply, "about the same as I felt yesterday only with one more minor ache." In reality, I don't know if I have one more ache or not. I really don't have much in the way of aches or pains. For that I feel lucky and blessed.

Now, my brain (perhaps it's my lizard brain) is saying to me, "you're 30-something." However, my body is saying, "stop kidding yourself." What a conundrum. Which do I believe? And so goes the aging process.

So many people say they are "39" like the late comedian, Jack Benny who was 39 for decades before he finally passed away. Then there are those who simply don't want to accept their age and don't want to state a number or make believe they don't celebrate their birthdays any longer. There are jokes about being over the hill. Which hill? I've been over a lot of hills during my lifetime. Or the joke that goes, "How do you know when you're really old? When the candles for the cake cost more than the cake."

Okay, time to face up to the facts. You can lie about your age. You can make believe it isn't important. You can stop celebrating your birthdays. You can tell jokes about it. The hard fact and reality is, even with the best face lift money can buy or all the Jim Beam or single malt, 16 year old Scotch you can get plastered with, NOTHING stops the clock. Underneath it all, you really are getting older by the nanosecond.

Why fight it? I actually believe that, while there are a few . . . okay, a number . . . a bunch of negative facets of the aging process, the benefits of wisdom, slowing down, smelling more roses (and coffee), letting go of what other people think - especially about you, your corny jokes, your weird ideas and your no longer perfect (was it ever) body, this can be, should be and, if you accept it, is the best time of your life.

Birthdays should be YOUR personal holiday. Your year doesn't begin on January 1st unless you just happened to be born on January 1st. Your year begins with whatever day of the year you left the warm, comfortable surroundings of your mother's womb and began facing "your brave new world." Your birthday, whatever day of the year, month and week of the year it falls on is your most important holiday. You can forget about New Years, President's Day, Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day, Veterans Day, Easter, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and all the Jewish, Muslim and other religious holidays as well as Mother's Day and Father's Day. Not one of them is as important as your birthday because if you had never celebrated your day of coming into this world, you wouldn't exist and none of the myriad of other holidays mean a thing.

So, To Birthday or Not to Birthday has only one logical answer. Party Hardy in whatever way suits you. And, since it's YOUR day to do anything you want to with it - you can celebrate it on another day if it's more convenient. You can expand it to a long weekend or even a week if you choose to. Be proud of the years you've been on this Earth. Every one of them is marked with achievement and each in its own way is a badge of courage. In order to reach whatever age you are, be it 30, 50, 70 or 90 you've overcome much, accomplished much and come a long way, baby. Bask in it.

So, here I am, embarking on my 69th year on the planet. I'm older, wiser and, frankly more motivated to accomplish things on my life list because I don't know how many more sands are in my hour glass of life. I'm not fretting or concerning myself about that unknown except I know that my days future are definitely less than my days past. I'm not regretting or allowing the past to control the future. I only have right now, as I write this, to live, for sure. I can't change history, so why should I worry about it. But, I can have a whale of a great time in the future for however long that may be.

I know I'll die with unfinished business, so I'm not going to attempt to cram everything in. I'm simply going to live every moment of every day to the fullest so that as the time to take my last breath approaches, I'll have fantastic memories of a life well lived with all the scars, mistakes, loves, beauty and accomplishments. And, I hope, like George Burns, I have something spectacular planned for my 100th birthday. But, I'm in no rush to get there.

Happy Birthday to all of you who may share my personal holiday. And Happy Birthday to all of you who celebrate your personal holiday on some other day of the year. May all your wishes and dreams come true, but don't wait for them, live everyday like it's your last. 

Photo-of-the-Week #89 - Sunday At The Beach, Ogden, Utah - May 2010

What better way to idle away a sunny Sunday afternoon besides soaking up some rays (with appropriate sunscreen applied, of course) on the beach. In this particular instance the beach is on the shore of the Great Salt Lake at Ogden, Utah. There was absolutely no way I was going to pass up this opportunity. The last and only other time I had been at the Great Salt Lake was during the summer of 1970 or 1971, I don't recall which year. I was in the Air Force and was sent to attend a recording workshop at Brigham Young University.

The first time I saw the lake, I flew in on an American Airlines flight into Salt Lake City. I had made friends with a cute flight attendant (they called them stewardesses back then) during the flight. She had never actually seen the lake close up. I had a rental car and she had a few hours of layover time before her next flight. So, we ventured to the shores of the lake and did a little wading.

I dropped her back at the airport for her next flight and never saw her again. But, I did get back to the Great Salt Lake and this time I was driving. I chatted with some of the folks on the beach and, yes, indeed, I went wading again, approximately 40 years from the first time. I didn't have a cute flight attendant with me this time. Actually, I was talking on my cell phone with my old grad school buddy, consulting with him about a recording studio in Phoenix, Arizona to record a CD for his daughter, a professional entertainer, who was performing at the Phoenix Theater. It only seems fitting. By that evening I was comfortably in Boise, Idaho, another first for this wandering nomad.

Photo-of-the Week #87 - Memphis Musical History - Stax Records, Memphis, Tennessee, June 2003

If the names Booker T & the MG's, Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, The Bar-Kays, Sam and Dave, Isaac Hayes, The Mar-Kays, The Staple Singers and a number of other soul singers, groups and composers bring back memories (hmmm, you'd have to be of a certain age, I suspect), they all have two things in common. First, they were all part of the Memphis music scene during the late 50's, 60's and part of the 70's. Second, they were all affiliated with Stax Records and some of its derivative labels, like Volt and Satellite.

This week's photo is of the Stax Museum in Memphis. The studios and labels were owned and operated by Jim Stewart and his sister, Estelle Axton at this location. The company moved to the old Capitol Theater at 926 East McLemore Avenue in South Memphis during the summer of 1960. The labels produced southern soul, R&B, jazz, funk and gospel music. Booker T. Jones was the Booker T of Booker T & the MG's. One of their hits was called "Green Onions" in 1962. The MG's were also the Stax studio band and appeared on hundreds of records backing up other Stax artists. The Satellite Record Shop next to the Stax (Capitol Theater) Studio was operated by Estelle Axton, who handled the finances and accounting for the Stax company.

The building you see in the photo is a recreation. After the demise of the company through bankruptcy in 1975, the building was turned over to the Southside Church of God in Christ in 1981 by the bank. They tore the entire building structure down in 1989. The land sat vacant until a group of philanthropists gathered the funds to buy the land in 1998 and began construction of the museum in 2001. The museum opened to the public in 2003.

What you see in the photo is a facade designed to appear like the original structure. Inside is not a recreation of the original structure. The museum fills the building and has a variety of  exhibits, including some equipment that may have actually been in the studio during its operational days. I enjoyed my tour and I met some interesting people while I was walking through. One of them was a fellow from the Netherlands who travels the world tracking music, studios and the history. He and I chatted at some length and both agreed that for the general public, the museum was more than adequate. However, he and I shared the same disappointment from our perspective as "industry professionals." Even the curator of the museum, who we both spoke with, had very little real knowledge of the history, technical aspects and other details we felt he should have known. However, it was still worth the price of admission and I'd recommend it if you're ever visiting Memphis and love great music from the period.  

Photo-of-the-Week #82 - An Iconic Sign, Hollywood, California, May 2009

Nothing new here! This is probably one of the most iconic signs in the world. This, of course, is my shot from my "Final Hollywood Tour" trip in May of 2009. I hadn't been to Hollywood in quite a number of years. I've certainly been to Los Angeles, of which Hollywood is a part, but not to Hollywood proper.

I called it my "Final Hollywood Tour" because my main purpose for going to Hollywood was to see what was still left of the recording studio scene that I knew from my days in the early 70's thru early 80's when I spent time there during my early recording industry career. I wanted to visit the old "Temples of Sound" where most of the Hollywood chart topping rock and roll and other pop music were recorded during the 60's and 70's. I shot this photo while I was driving my rental car, so it's not as good as it could have been, but it was difficult to find a place to park along this street and capture the shot.

Sadly, while I did locate a very few of the studios I remember, many, perhaps, most of them were gone. Some were, what appeared to be abandoned buildings. Others the buildings had been repurposed and I couldn't even recognize them. Still others were bulldozed and either new buildings replaced them or they "paved paradise and put up a  parking lot." You may remember that line from Joni Mitchell's famous , "Big Yellow Taxicab" song written and originally released in 1970. I even found the hole in the ground that had been a building where Harry O'Connor, a broadcast pioneer, had his studios based at Hollywood and Vine. I had made an informal arrangement with O'Connor to use his services as my west coast facility for my Washington, DC based production company. My brochures sported our DC address and the Hollywood and Vine address.  

While Hollywood, or Tinsel Town, as it's been called, didn't impress me the first time I went there in 1970 or '71, it hasn't really changed much since then. It was seedy looking to me back then and it was still seedy looking in 2009. But, the real change was that many of the well-known studios of the 60's and 70's were gone forever. I guess what is most unnerving is that this change is a reminder of my own age. Back then in my mid 20's. Today in my mid 60's. Time marches on - too fast.